1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to the fabrication of envelopes from continuous strip materials such as a computer printer feed paper.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
With the advent of the computer age, many offices are converting to computers and computer driven printers for the purposes of word processing, accounting and other clerical functions. Accordingly, a great deal of correspondence intended to be sent out of an office is generated on continuous computer sheets. This is highly desirable in many instances because the computer can be programmed to send out a standard letter and insert in each one the names and addresses of the addressee and to make appropriate changes in the text of the letter as may be necessary for each addressee. In this manner, form letters may be addressed to many individuals without having to type each letter individually. Similarly, other types of letters and correspondence may be generated on the computer in a variety of ways to take advantage of the efficiencies of computer programming and the word processing. The problem with this system is that after letters are generated, it becomes necessary to have envelopes addressed to each of the individuals to carry the correspondence. Consequently, it is very desirable to have a continuous strip of envelopes which may be addressed by a computer program in a manner corresponding to the letters being generated with a minimum of manual operations.
In the prior art there have been a number of patents granted for continuous envelope assemblies. Patents of interest in this area include:
Canadian Pat. No. 1,165,285, entitled "Peel Back Mailer", which issued Apr. 10, 1984 to Transkrit Corporation;
Canadian Pat. No. 1,059,470, entitled "Continuous Envelope Assembly", which issued July 31, 1979 to Uarco Incorporated;
Canadian Pat. No. 994,298, entitled "Continuous orm Seamless Envelopes and Method for Making", which issued Aug. 3, 1976 to the United States Envelope Company;
Canadian Pat. No. 846,617, entitled "Multiple Correspondence and Billing Form and Method Thereof", which issued July 14, 1970 to George C. Dagher Jr.; and
Canadian Pat. No. 954,834, entitled "Continuous Strip Envelopes", which issued Sept. 17, 1974 to the Societe d'Exploitation des Establisements.
The above cited patents are incorporated herein by reference as if the texts thereof were fully set forth herein.
While these patent disclosures teach methods and means of preparing envelopes from a continuous strip and each has some advantages and disadvantages, it is believed by the inventor that none of the prior art disclosures teaches a continuous strip envelope of the kind described below.